


Books and Plays

by Interstella



Series: Nexis [5]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M, Nexis, side fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 18:35:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16101413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Interstella/pseuds/Interstella
Summary: A small collection of tiny scenes to accompany my story "For the Future, Cherish the Past". Can be read any time after chapter 5.





	Books and Plays

**Author's Note:**

> These occured to me while my mind was hazed with (perscription) pain medication. I felt the need to add them, but I wasn't going to throw them in with the main story. 
> 
> You guys have all been so patient with me and my sudden slow down of posting, so I thought I'd share them. Enjoy.

Sephiroth had run out of books to read and was slowly starting to go stir crazy. Even when they had a delivery to do, Sephiroth had a habit of reading when they settled down for the night. Now that he'd run out of books, he was starting to get antsy and it was slowly driving Cloud up the wall.

So when Cloud drove past a book store in Edge, he took it to be divine provenance. Or at least, a very good opportunity to find something new for Sephiroth to read. He wandered in, browsing the shelves when a book caught his attention.

On the cover, was a very well drawn portrait of Sephiroth on a black background. But it wasn't he artwork that caught Cloud's attention, it was the title that jumped out at him and caused him to lose his cool.

Picking up the book, he took a closer look and couldn't help the snickering that came out.

“ _Mommy Issues. Sephiroth, a Biography.”_

The snickering turned into full on laughter as he turned it over and read the blurb.

“ _Sephiroth, once the worlds greatest hero, fell into insanity. And it was all his mothers fault. Follow the Silver General's exploits with stories gathered from those who knew him best and delve into the psyche of a man thrown into the depths of insanity in the name of his 'mother's' love. A tale of triumph and tragedy, of ups and downs. Read about the latest failure of world domination.”_

Still laughing hard, Cloud added it to his basket. He _had_ to read this, and was rather looking forward to the look on Seph's face when he gave it to him.

– – – – – – – –

“I think Tifa left some of her clothing in our room.”

Cloud looked up from the book he was reading to see Sephiroth pull a purple silk dress from the closet.

“No. That's mine.” Cloud said simply, returning his attention to his book. After a moment, he realised that Sephiroth was staring at him and he sighed, “I had to infiltrate a brothel.” He told him with a shrug. “I think the heels are still in there somewhere too.”

“You... wore this?” Sephiroth asked, looking from Cloud to the dress. He held the garment up towards Cloud, as if trying to imagine him wearing it.

“Yes. Tifa was in trouble, but they weren't letting men in. I had to find a way to help her.” He shrugged again, “Apparently I make a convincing woman.” He smirked, “The Don chose me as his concubine.”

“You...” For some reason, this didn't seem to be making any sense to Sephiroth, and Cloud was finding it _very_ amusing.

“I wore that, to infiltrate a brothel, to save Tifa from being chosen by a sleazy don. He chose me instead, we interrogated him, found out some information and were dumped into a sewer. I had taken the dress off before we fell, and it ended up in my pack. When we'd finished our journey, I found it again.”

“And decided to keep it?”

Cloud shrugged, “Aerith gave it to me.” He told him, not really wanting to go into any more details.

– – – – – – – – –

“Why are we doing this?” Sephiroth asked, staring down at the flowers in his hands.

“Because Marlene asked us to.” Cloud responded, frowning as he tried to follow the instructions she'd left for them.

“And what,” Sephiroth asked, managing to somehow thread two flowers together, “Is she intending on doing with these... crowns?”

Cloud shrugged. Honestly, he had no idea. “Dunno. When she asked if we could help, I thought she'd be here...”

But she wasn't. She'd left them alone to finish the task. Cloud sighed and looked at the pile of small flowers between him and Sephiroth, wondering exactly what she _was_ going to do with them. “As long as she doesn't try to make us wear them...” He muttered.

“I think they would suit you.” Came a voice from Cloud's left and he sighed, turning to glare at Genesis, who had also been roped into joining them. The crimson SOLDIER grinned at Cloud as he lifted a finished flower crown and attempted to place it on his head. Luckily, Cloud was fast and was able to dodge the offending accessory.

“Yeah. Not going to happen.” He muttered, only to jump to his feet as Genesis lunged at him again. He dodged the man and moved to stand behind Sephiroth. Sephiroth would protect him, right?

Wrong. He was keeping his eyes on Genesis, and hadn't thought of Sephiroth as a threat, so when he felt something being placed on the top of his head, his eyes widened. “Traitor.” He muttered, glaring at Sephiroth as he reached up to remove the crown.

He wasn't fast enough, and a flash alerted him to the fact that Genesis had apparently got his hands on a phone with a camera.

– – – – – – – – –

“Really?” Cloud looked at the bright yellow item in his hands, his eyebrows rising into his hairline. He glanced up to see Sephiroth looking somewhat bashful.

“You like chocobos...”

Cloud sighed, and felt himself smile. “Thank you.” He said, looking down at the stuffed toy in his hands. Really, Sephiroth had no idea about gifts, did he? Still, it was the thought that counted, right?

The stuffed chocobo ended up on a shelf in their room, proudly on display beside the origami and small gifts the children had given him over the years. If anybody asked, Cloud would proudly tell them that it was a gift from a loved one.

– – – – – – – – –

“A play?” Cloud stared at the youngest of their group, who nodded with a grin.

“Yep. We're going to a play.” Marlene repeated herself, reaching forward to grab at Cloud's hand. Her other hand took Sephiroth's. “All of us.”

She seemed so gleeful and excited, that Cloud actually had no intention of refusing her. He could sit through a play if it made her happy. How long were plays? An hour? Two at most? He could spare that much time for her.

“Which play?” Genesis looked up from the table he'd been sitting at to question Marlene.

“Loveless.” She answered, still grinning. Cloud and Sephiroth groaned and Cloud was reassessing his decision to go.

“You're coming too.” Marlene announced, still grinning at Genesis.

He gave her a mock bow and smile. “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

And suddenly, she was dragging Cloud and Sephiroth towards the door.

The play was long. And dull. And oh too familiar. Cloud sat, pouting at the stage as he waited for it to finish. When the lights finally came back on, he couldn't help but mutter, “Finally,”.

Beside him, Sephiroth chuckled, agreeing with him.

“You didn't like the play?” Marlene asked, as they began to leave the theatre.

“I've just heard it way too often.” Cloud muttered, Sephiroth nodding beside him.

“Well, _I_ loved it.” Genesis announced, taking Marlene's hand and giving her another bow. “Thank you for your invitation, young lady.”

“Why do you hate it so much?” Sephiroth asked Cloud.

“Because you recite it in your sleep.” He muttered, catching the surprised looks on both Sephiroth's and Genesis' faces.

“He does?” “I do?” They asked at the same time and Cloud just sighed and shook his head, moving faster and leaving them behind.

– – – – – – – – – – –

 


End file.
